CPM has blamed the Dhumal government and the Shimla Municipal Corporation (MC) for their failure to utilise the funds sanctioned by the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM).
Sanjay Chauhan, Secretary of the Shimla District Committee of CPM blames that Rs 34 crore sanctioned for various development schemes for the Shimla city under the mission could not be utilised due to the their callous attitude towards the Scheduled Castes and the urban poor. Chauhan added that funds allocated under various Central schemes like housing for urban poor have not been utilised by them. The schemes for Shimla included Rs 9.99 crore under Ashiana I (252 houses) and Rs 14 crore under Ashiana II (384 houses) for the homeless urban poor. The funds were given to HIMUDA five years ago but no headway was made in the implementation of the projects.
Even the Director of National Building Organisation in the Ministry of Urban Development had resented the failure to utilise the funds and asked the government to surrender the amount. On the one hand, the government and the municipal corporation had been crying for funds while on the other hand they were unable to make use of the funds sanctioned to benefit the poor. The government could not find land for housing project but gave land to a private party to construct a slaughterhouse in main heartland in Krishna Nagar and dog huts in Baag area in Tutikandi and also allowed felling of hundreds of trees.
CPM alleged that Govt failed to take action against builders in the Shimla town, who had encroach upon forest and other land. CPM has demanded for the land for the housing scheme for poor and also demanded to constructed houses for them. Party also demanded for the policy to regularise shelters constructed by poor people in Shimla city.
